समस्तेन्द्रियसर्गस्य यः सदा स्थानमुत्तमम् । तस्मै शब्दादिरूपाय नमः कृष्णाय वेधसे ॥ १,१४.
To him who is always the supreme abode of all the senses and their creation, who is of the form of sound and the rest, to Kṛṣṇa, the creator, we bow.
गृह्णाति विषयान्नित्यमिन्द्रियात्माक्षराक्षरः । यस्तस्मै ज्ञानमूलाय नतास्म हरिमेधसे ॥ १,१४.
To him who, as the imperishable and perishable, always receives the objects through the senses, who is the root of knowledge, to Hari, the origin of the universe, we bow.
गृहीतानिन्द्रियैरर्थानात्मने यः प्रयच्छति । अन्तःकरणरूपाय तस्मै विश्वात्मने नमः ॥ १,१४.
To him who bestows the self upon the objects grasped by the senses, who is of the form of the inner faculty, to the soul of the universe, we bow.
यस्मिन्ननन्ते सकलं विश्वं यस्मात्तथोद्गतम् । लयस्थानं च यस्तस्मै नमः प्रकृतिधर्मिणे ॥ १,१४.
To him in whom the entire universe abides, from whom it arises, and in whom it dissolves, who is the abode of dissolution, to the one whose nature is Prakṛti, we bow.
शुद्धः संल्लक्ष्यते भ्रान्त्या गुणवानिव योऽगुणः । तमात्मरूपिणं देव नतास्म पुरुषोत्तमम् ॥ १,१४.
He who is pure, who is perceived through delusion as possessing qualities though he is without qualities— to that divine Supreme Person, who is the very form of the Self, we bow.
अविकारमजं शुद्धं निर्गुणं यन्निरजनम् । नताःस्मतत्परं ब्रह्म विष्णोर्यत्परमं पदम् ॥ १,१४.
Unchanging, unborn, pure, without qualities, and without blemish— to that highest Brahman, the supreme abode of Vishnu, we bow.
अदीर्घह्रस्वमस्थूलण्वनमश्यामलोहितम् । अस्नेहच्छायमतनुमसक्तमशरीरीणम् ॥ १,१४.
Neither long nor short, neither gross nor subtle, neither dark nor red, without affection, shadow, or form, unattached, and bodiless.
अनाकाशमसंस्पर्शमगन्धमरसं च यत् । अचक्षुश्रोत्रमचलमवाक्पाणिममानिसम् ॥ १,१४.
Without space, without contact, without scent or taste, without eyes or ears, unmoving, without speech, hands, or pride.
अनामगोमत्रसुखमतेजस्कमहेतुकम् । अभयं भ्रान्तिरहितम निद्रमजरामरम् ॥ १,१४.
Without name or measure, without pleasure, without brilliance, without cause, fearless, free from delusion, without sleep, decay, or death.
अरजोशब्दममृतमप्लुतं यदसंवृतम् । पूर्वापरेण वै यस्मिस्तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम् ॥ १,१४.
Without passion or sound, immortal, unshaken, uncovered— that which is before and after, that is the supreme abode of Vishnu.
परमेशत्वगुणवत्सर्वभूतमसंशयम् । नतास्म तत्पदं विष्णोर्जिह्वादृग्गोचरं न यत् ॥ १,१४.
Endowed with the quality of supreme lordship, pervading all beings without doubt— we bow to that abode of Vishnu, which is not accessible to tongue or eye.
श्रीपराशर उवाच एवं प्रचेतसो विष्णुं स्तुवन्तस्तत्समाधयः । दशवर्षसहस्राणि तपश्चेरुर्महार्णवे ॥ १,१४.
Śrī Parāśara said: Thus, praising Vishnu with these meditations, the Pracetas performed austerities for ten thousand years in the great ocean.
ततः प्रसन्नो भगवांस्तेषामन्तर्जले हरिः । ददौ दर्शनमुन्निद्रनीलोत्पलदलच्छविः ॥ १,१४.
Then, the blessed Hari, pleased, appeared to them in the waters, his complexion like the petals of a freshly blossomed blue lotus.
पतत्रिराजमारूढमवलोक्य प्रचेतसः । प्रणिपेतुः शिरोभिस्तं भक्तिभारावनामितैः ॥ १,१४.
Seeing him mounted on the king of birds, the Pracetas bowed down to him with their heads, bent low with the weight of devotion.
ततस्तानाह भगवान्व्रयतामीप्सतो वरः । प्रसादसुमुखोहं वो वरदः समुपस्थितः ॥ १,१४.
Then the Blessed Lord said to them, 'Choose the boon you desire; I am present before you, gracious and ready to grant blessings.'
ततस्तमूचुर्वरदं प्रणिपत्य प्रचेतसः । यथा पित्रा समादिष्टं प्रजानां वृद्धिकारणम् ॥ १,१४.
Then the Pracetas, bowing to the bestower of boons, said, 'As instructed by our father, may we obtain that which causes the growth of beings.'
स चापि देवस्तं दत्त्वा यथभिलषितं वरम् । अन्तर्धानं जगामाशु ते च निश्चक्रमुर्जलात् ॥ १,१४.
And the god, granting them the boon as they desired, vanished at once, and they emerged from the water.
श्रीपराशर उवाच तपश्चरत्सु पृथिवीं प्रचेतःसु महीरुहाः । अरक्ष्यमाणामावव्रुर्बभूवाथ प्रजाक्षयः ॥ १,१५.
Śrī Parāśara said: While the Pracetas performed austerities, the trees on earth, unprotected, spread everywhere, and there was a decline of living beings.
नाशकन्मरुतो वातुं वृतं खमभवद्द्रुमैः । दशवर्षसहस्राणि न शकुश्चेष्टितुं प्रजाः ॥ १,१५.
The winds could not blow, the sky was blocked by trees; for ten thousand years, the creatures could not move.
तान्दृष्ट्वा जलनिष्क्रान्ताः सर्वे क्रुद्धाः प्रचेतसः । मुखेभ्यो वायुमग्निं च तेऽसृजन् जातमन्यवः ॥ १,१५.
Seeing this, the Pracetas, emerging from the water, all became angry, and from their mouths they released wind and fire.
उन्मूलानथ तान्वृक्षान्कृत्वा वायुरशोषयत् । तानग्निरदहद्घोरस्तत्राभूद्द्रुमसंक्षयः ॥ १,१५.
Then the wind uprooted those trees, and the fierce fire burned them; thus, there was destruction of the trees.
द्रुमक्षयमथो दृष्ट्वा किञ्चिच्छिष्टेषु शाखिषु । उपगम्याब्रवीदेतान्राजा सोमः प्रजापतीन् ॥ १,१५.
Seeing the destruction of the trees, with only a few branches left, King Soma, the lord of beings, approached them and spoke.
कोपं यच्छत राजानः शृणुध्वञ्च वचो मम । सन्धानं वः करिष्यामि सह क्षितिरुहैरहम् ॥ १,१५.
Restrain your anger, O kings, and listen to my words; I will make peace between you and the trees.
रत्नभूता च कन्येयं वार्क्षेयी वरवर्णिनी । भविष्यज्जानता पूर्वं मया गोभिर्विवर्धिता ॥ १,१५.
This maiden, radiant and beautiful, is a jewel among the daughters of the trees; she was raised by me together with the cows, knowing what would come.
मारिषा नाम नाम्नैषा वृक्षाणामिति निर्मिता । भार्या वोऽस्तु महाभागा ध्रुवं वंशविवर्धिनी ॥ १,१५.
She is called Māriṣā, created from the trees; let this illustrious woman be your wife, surely she will increase your lineage.
युष्माकं तेज सोर्धेन मम चार्धेन तेजसः । अस्यामुत्पत्स्यते विद्वान्दक्षोनाम प्रजापतिः ॥ १,१५.
By the union of your power and half of mine, a wise son named Dakṣa, the lord of creatures, will be born from her.
मम चांशेन संयुक्तो युष्मत्तेजोमयेन वै । तेजसाग्निसमो भूयः प्रजाः संवर्धयिष्यति ॥ १,१५.
Endowed with a portion of me and composed of your energy, he will possess brilliance equal to fire and will nurture the creatures.
कण्डुर्नाम मुनिः पूर्वमासीद्वेदविदां वरः । मुरम्ये गोमतीतीरे म तेपे परमं तपः ॥ १,१५.
There was once a sage named Kaṇḍu, foremost among those who know the Vedas; he performed supreme austerity on the pleasant bank of the Gomati.
तत्क्षोभाय सुरेन्द्रेण प्रम्लोचाख्या वराप्सराः । प्रयुक्ता क्षोभयामास तमृषिं सा शुचिस्मिता ॥ १,१५.
To disturb him, Indra sent the celestial nymph Pramlocā, whose smile was pure; she began to agitate the sage.
क्षोभितः स तया सार्धं वर्षाणामधिकं शतम् । अतिष्ठन्मन्दरद्रोण्यां विषयासक्तमानसः ॥ १,१५.
Disturbed by her, he spent more than a hundred years with her in the valley of Mandara, his mind absorbed in sensual pleasures.